The truth behind other faiths.

[CrystalMind]

That's an interesting point, Priestley. But of course I have to ask you a question, now. Why do you say that Western culture leads people to be more receptive to Christianity than other religions? Maybe it's just my experience, but a lot of the people I go to school with are either atheist or agnostic. The rest of the population is sprinkled through with about a dozen different faiths, religions, and societal constructs.  

[Priestley]

CrystalMind

That's an interesting point, Priestley. But of course I have to ask you a question, now. Why do you say that Western culture leads people to be more receptive to Christianity than other religions? Maybe it's just my experience, but a lot of the people I go to school with are either atheist or agnostic. The rest of the population is sprinkled through with about a dozen different faiths, religions, and societal constructs.

The thing is that atheism isn't really a religion.  

[CrystalMind]

Priestley

CrystalMind

That's an interesting point, Priestley. But of course I have to ask you a question, now. Why do you say that Western culture leads people to be more receptive to Christianity than other religions? Maybe it's just my experience, but a lot of the people I go to school with are either atheist or agnostic. The rest of the population is sprinkled through with about a dozen different faiths, religions, and societal constructs.

The thing is that atheism isn't really a religion.

I see what you mean, but you missed the point of my question. What about Western society do you think makes it more receptive to Christianity? What is it that gave you that impression?

I'm honestly not trying to pick a fight or anything. I'm just curious. You gave your reasoning for India's Hinduism, but not for Western society and Christiandom.  

[eric the ghost]

Atheism is a religion with all manner of denominations ranging from communism, Nazism all the way to 'scientific humanists' some are evil and some are less evil. as for other 'theist systems' most of the main ones are actually pretty similar when you strip off the ' ritual' and 'religion' which i guess should be expected....

Christianity stands out in so much as its not a case of following rules. Its possible 'in theory' that God sent 'the law' to the Muslims in the same way he sent the law to the tribe of Israel. As i understand it the original Muslims were of a tribe descended from Abraham's illegitimate son, ishmael (sp?) so mabey??.

oh well just some thoughts...  

[Xandris]

eric the ghost

As i understand it the original Muslims were of a tribe descended from Abraham's illegitimate son, ishmael (sp?) so mabey??.

Indeed. Ishmael, like his little brother, fathered twelve tribes, one of which gave birth to Mohammed.  

[freelance lover]

Fushigi na Butterfly

Off topic: I hate how Confuscianism gets labelled a world religion- it is not a religion, it's not even a spiritual model, it's a societal model. ><"

/off topic

On topic: Much of my theological view of late is actually based on the Hindu concept of "all faiths worship different facets of one God". In case you couldn't tell just from reading what I've been saying recently. sweatdrop

I know what you mean, on the Confuscian thing- similar to Buddhism. They're both nontheistic. But alas, when the white people discovered them, the interpreted pretty much everything about them and so they get lumped into my World Religions class...

I'm also in the vein of "all faiths are worshipping different facets of one God." My boyfriend has this analogy that God is like the sun and all the different religions are the planets revolving around it. They all see the same sun, they just interpret it differently.

And when you come down to it, almost every religion has the same basic ideals:
-There's a God, worship him.
-Love your neighbor and do them no harm
-Forgiveness and rebirth
-Don't lie, cheat, steal, misuse sex, or kill
-Avoid greed, excess possetion, envy, etc.

"May we know the Lord or lords, the King of kings, the God or gods: God, the God of love, the lord of all. We cannot see how he works, or what are the tools of his work. Nothing can be compared with him, and how can anything be greater than he is? His power is shown in infinite ways, and how great is his work and wisdom! No one was before he was, and no one has rule over him; because he is the source of all, and also the ruler of all."
-Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:7-9, a Hindu text

And random: everyone should google search pictures of Jesus from different cultures. It's totally awesome.  

[Matt Pniewski]

Fushigi na Butterfly

Off topic: I hate how Confuscianism gets labelled a world religion- it is not a religion, it's not even a spiritual model, it's a societal model. ><"

/off topic

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.



Sorry, Confucianism=Religion. But if you want to irritate people, tell a Communist that technically, Communism is a religion. I love using that one...  

[Priestley]

CrystalMind

Priestley

CrystalMind

That's an interesting point, Priestley. But of course I have to ask you a question, now. Why do you say that Western culture leads people to be more receptive to Christianity than other religions? Maybe it's just my experience, but a lot of the people I go to school with are either atheist or agnostic. The rest of the population is sprinkled through with about a dozen different faiths, religions, and societal constructs.

The thing is that atheism isn't really a religion.

I see what you mean, but you missed the point of my question. What about Western society do you think makes it more receptive to Christianity? What is it that gave you that impression?

I'm honestly not trying to pick a fight or anything. I'm just curious. You gave your reasoning for India's Hinduism, but not for Western society and Christiandom.

The reasoning I gave for India's Hinduism is the same reasoning that I gave for the West's Christianity. I saw no reason to repeat it. Obviously you missed the part where I made the comparison between the two examples.  

[Priestley]

eric the ghost

Atheism is a religion with all manner of denominations ranging from communism, Nazism all the way to 'scientific humanists' some are evil and some are less evil. as for other 'theist systems' most of the main ones are actually pretty similar when you strip off the ' ritual' and 'religion' which i guess should be expected....

I do apologise. I wasn't clear. By 'atheism', I mean the practice of living life with no faith. Religions tend to have faith as a requirement.

eric the ghost

Christianity stands out in so much as its not a case of following rules.

There are Christian anarchists out there, yes, but Christianity has rules like any other religion. The intention is for people to follow these rules whether loosely or firmly.  

[Fushigi na Butterfly]

CrystalMind

That's an interesting point, Priestley. But of course I have to ask you a question, now. Why do you say that Western culture leads people to be more receptive to Christianity than other religions? Maybe it's just my experience, but a lot of the people I go to school with are either atheist or agnostic. The rest of the population is sprinkled through with about a dozen different faiths, religions, and societal constructs.

There seems to be a general "chicken and egg" situation going on as far as society and religion goes, though generally, society came first, I think. For example, Japanese culture is a very group-oriented culture- the individual is responsible for the group, and the group is responsible for making the individuals all look good. For this reason, it's no surprise that their main religion- Shinto- is steeped in ancestor worship. Japan is all about honoring your clan, your group, whether they are alive or dead. Western society is much more individual oriented. Christianity is very much about God's love of the individual person, and individual responsibility to accept His gift of sacrifice and salvation. We grab onto this because it fits with our mode of thinking. 3nodding  

[Fushigi na Butterfly]

Matt Pniewski

Fushigi na Butterfly

Off topic: I hate how Confuscianism gets labelled a world religion- it is not a religion, it's not even a spiritual model, it's a societal model. ><"

/off topic

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.



Sorry, Confucianism=Religion. But if you want to irritate people, tell a Communist that technically, Communism is a religion. I love using that one...

Hmm ... maybe I just disagree with the dictionary definition of religion. I see religion more as a spiritual thing, whether God or gods are part of it- Shinto and Zoroastrianism and Wicca- those are all religions to me. Certainly a model for society can come from this (all of our laws are based off the Bible for example), but a model for society shouldn't be a religion. A cult, maybe, but not a religion. That would be like saying Americanism is a religion. It's why I don't count LaVeyan Satanism or Scientology as religions- there's no spiritual aspect to either of them. confused The dictionary might disagree with me, but then again, I don't think the dictionary is always right. sweatdrop  

[Priestley]

Fushigi na Butterfly

CrystalMind

That's an interesting point, Priestley. But of course I have to ask you a question, now. Why do you say that Western culture leads people to be more receptive to Christianity than other religions? Maybe it's just my experience, but a lot of the people I go to school with are either atheist or agnostic. The rest of the population is sprinkled through with about a dozen different faiths, religions, and societal constructs.

There seems to be a general "chicken and egg" situation going on as far as society and religion goes, though generally, society came first, I think. For example, Japanese culture is a very group-oriented culture- the individual is responsible for the group, and the group is responsible for making the individuals all look good. For this reason, it's no surprise that their main religion- Shinto- is steeped in ancestor worship. Japan is all about honoring your clan, your group, whether they are alive or dead. Western society is much more individual oriented. Christianity is very much about God's love of the individual person, and individual responsibility to accept His gift of sacrifice and salvation. We grab onto this because it fits with our mode of thinking. 3nodding

Mmm, chicken.  

[CrystalMind]

Fushigi na Butterfly

CrystalMind

That's an interesting point, Priestley. But of course I have to ask you a question, now. Why do you say that Western culture leads people to be more receptive to Christianity than other religions? Maybe it's just my experience, but a lot of the people I go to school with are either atheist or agnostic. The rest of the population is sprinkled through with about a dozen different faiths, religions, and societal constructs.

There seems to be a general "chicken and egg" situation going on as far as society and religion goes, though generally, society came first, I think. For example, Japanese culture is a very group-oriented culture- the individual is responsible for the group, and the group is responsible for making the individuals all look good. For this reason, it's no surprise that their main religion- Shinto- is steeped in ancestor worship. Japan is all about honoring your clan, your group, whether they are alive or dead. Western society is much more individual oriented. Christianity is very much about God's love of the individual person, and individual responsibility to accept His gift of sacrifice and salvation. We grab onto this because it fits with our mode of thinking. 3nodding

Thanks for the clarification, Fushigi.

@Priestley: I apologize if I sounded argumentative in any way, shape or form. The part that confused me was this:

Priestley

It is easier to understand Christianity in the West, for example, due to the culture lending itself towards Christianity, which leads many people to be more receptive to Christian doctrine than the doctrine of other religions.

I think that I understand what you were trying to get across, now, but your original wording was a bit unclear.  

[Priestley]

CrystalMind

@Priestley: I apologize if I sounded argumentative in any way, shape or form. The part that confused me was this:

Priestley

It is easier to understand Christianity in the West, for example, due to the culture lending itself towards Christianity, which leads many people to be more receptive to Christian doctrine than the doctrine of other religions.

I think that I understand what you were trying to get across, now, but your original wording was a bit unclear.

You never sounded argumentative/confrontational, so chill. wink

What I meant to say after that in my original post was "The same [thing] can be said of a country like India,..." and, since I explained the reasoning behind India's Hinduism being prevalent, that logic could be used for the previous statement about the West's Christianity.  

[CrystalMind]

Priestley

You never sounded argumentative/confrontational, so chill. wink

What I meant to say after that in my original post was "The same [thing] can be said of a country like India,..." and, since I explained the reasoning behind India's Hinduism being prevalent, that logic could be used for the previous statement about the West's Christianity.

Oh, alright then. My mind had a bit of a disconnect when it tried to relate Hindu philosophy and culture to Christianity and the West. sweatdrop In any case, thanks for explaining.